---o0o---
Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts
Friday, May 04, 2018
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
ATIT Reheated: nude TSA scans of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron, and Jessica Alba found online
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
and Mona Goldwater, Gen X Desk
From March, 2011
To no one's real surprise, an underground market for body scan images taken by the TSA has popped up. In fact, the All This Is That editors were able to purchase explicit, nude "backscatter" images of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron and Jessica Alba, among others. We purchased these images 50 minutes after we began searching--from an underground, but fairly easily found website, with a room labelled "TSA's Hottest And Greatest Hits." Jack hooked us up with an email reference and we were in.
Jack Brummet, our arts, paranormal, and animal husbandry editor, began this story with a sonic boom and then bugged out. He handed it off to us and hooked us up with his contact in TSA management, who--surprise!--denied everything. You could tell he was lying because he really sucked at it. Jack's contact (a guy just below the top exec, level of the TSA) told him the TSA had discovered that employees were trading high quality TSA screening scans--digitally enhanced photos of celebrities and of "hot" men and women, often in categories like "grotesque" "hot jailbait" "long dong silvers" "great racks" or "belugas." Not long before TSA security swept in, the images began appearing online, and finally, for sale online.
The TSA and other government agencies often tout the quality of "Advanced Imaging Technology" like the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., while assuring customers that their operators "cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image."
Gizmodo busted them on that set of lies, by requesting (under the Freedom Of Information Act) 100 scans from among the 35,000 federal agents had saved on the scanner that "cannot store. . .or save the image." The images Gizmodo released were less explicit images from the older scanning technology, not the new "backscatter" X-ray technology. The backscatter images leave nothing to the imagination, which is how the trading and then black market for the celebrity and other images emerged.
The TSA, natch, posits that the leaked photos on Gizmodo were fakes. The TSA announced on their blog that the images they look at (but do not save!) look like this (click here to visit the TSA blog):
and Mona Goldwater, Gen X Desk
From March, 2011
Jack Brummet, our arts, paranormal, and animal husbandry editor, began this story with a sonic boom and then bugged out. He handed it off to us and hooked us up with his contact in TSA management, who--surprise!--denied everything. You could tell he was lying because he really sucked at it. Jack's contact (a guy just below the top exec, level of the TSA) told him the TSA had discovered that employees were trading high quality TSA screening scans--digitally enhanced photos of celebrities and of "hot" men and women, often in categories like "grotesque" "hot jailbait" "long dong silvers" "great racks" or "belugas." Not long before TSA security swept in, the images began appearing online, and finally, for sale online.
The TSA and other government agencies often tout the quality of "Advanced Imaging Technology" like the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., while assuring customers that their operators "cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image."
what you see in a digitally reversed backscatter body scan
Gizmodo busted them on that set of lies, by requesting (under the Freedom Of Information Act) 100 scans from among the 35,000 federal agents had saved on the scanner that "cannot store. . .or save the image." The images Gizmodo released were less explicit images from the older scanning technology, not the new "backscatter" X-ray technology. The backscatter images leave nothing to the imagination, which is how the trading and then black market for the celebrity and other images emerged.
The TSA, natch, posits that the leaked photos on Gizmodo were fakes. The TSA announced on their blog that the images they look at (but do not save!) look like this (click here to visit the TSA blog):
what the TSA claims you see in a body scan
---o0o---
Saturday, January 19, 2013
ATIT reheated (2011): Nude TSA scans of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron, and Jessica Alba for sale!
By Jack Brummet, Travel Editor
All This Is That finds nude TSA scans of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron, and Jessica Alba, for sale on the internet
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
Mona Goldwater, Gen X Desk, and
Jack Brummet (image research)
To no one's real surprise, an underground market for body scan images taken by the TSA has popped up. In fact, the All This Is That editors were able to purchase explicit, nude "backscatter" images of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron and Jessica Alba, among others. We purchased these images 50 minutes after we began searching--from an underground, but fairly easily found website, with a room labelled "TSA's Hottest And Greatest Hits." Jack hooked us up with an email reference and we were in.
Jack Brummet, our arts, paranormal, and animal husbandry editor, began this story with a sonic boom and then bugged out. He was off the story (with a bogus excuse about needing to focus on blah blah blah), handed it off to us and hooked us up with his contact in TSA management, who--surprise!--denied everything. You could tell he was lying because he really sucked at it. Jack's contact (a guy just below the top exec, level of the TSA) told him the TSA had discovered that employees were trading high quality TSA screening scans--digitally enhanced photos of celebrities and of "hot" men and women, often in categories like "grotesque" "hot jailbait" "long dong silvers" "great racks" or "belugas." Not long before TSA security swept in, the images began appearing online, and finally, for sale online.
The TSA and other government agencies often tout the quality of "Advanced Imaging Technology" like the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., while assuring customers that their operators "cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image."
Gizmodo busted them on that set of lies, by requesting (under the Freedom Of Information Act) 100 scans from among the 35,000 federal agents had saved on the scanner that "cannot store. . .or save the image." The images Gizmodo released were less explicit images from the older scanning technology, not the new "backscatter" X-ray technology. The backscatter images leave nothing to the imagination, which is how the trading and then black market for the celebrity and other images emerged.
The TSA, natch, posits that the leaked photos on Gizmodo were fakes. The TSA announced on their blog that the images they look at (but do not save!) look like this (click here to visit the TSA blog):
The Transportation Security Administration has announced that they will will remove the controversial X-ray body scanners (that deliver a nude image of the person being scanned) from airports. According to the TSA, software couldn't be developed by a congressionally mandated deadline to automatically detect suspicious items on the body. Instead, TSA officers viewed images of passengers' naked bodies to see if they were carrying weapons or or drug. These machines led to what privacy advocates called a "virtual strip search."
The United States was almost alone in the world in X-raying passengers and that the Food and Drug Administration had gone against its own advisory panel, which recommended the agency establish a federal safety standard for security X-rays.
They will be replacing the machines with non x-ray machines.
A couple years ago, our Mona Goldwater and Pablo Fanque dug up some surprising information about those controversial backscatter machines.
_______________________________
All This Is That finds nude TSA scans of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron, and Jessica Alba, for sale on the internet
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
Mona Goldwater, Gen X Desk, and
Jack Brummet (image research)
what the TSA claims you see in a body scan
Jack Brummet, our arts, paranormal, and animal husbandry editor, began this story with a sonic boom and then bugged out. He was off the story (with a bogus excuse about needing to focus on blah blah blah), handed it off to us and hooked us up with his contact in TSA management, who--surprise!--denied everything. You could tell he was lying because he really sucked at it. Jack's contact (a guy just below the top exec, level of the TSA) told him the TSA had discovered that employees were trading high quality TSA screening scans--digitally enhanced photos of celebrities and of "hot" men and women, often in categories like "grotesque" "hot jailbait" "long dong silvers" "great racks" or "belugas." Not long before TSA security swept in, the images began appearing online, and finally, for sale online.
The TSA and other government agencies often tout the quality of "Advanced Imaging Technology" like the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., while assuring customers that their operators "cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image."
what you see in a digitally reversed backscatter body scan
Gizmodo busted them on that set of lies, by requesting (under the Freedom Of Information Act) 100 scans from among the 35,000 federal agents had saved on the scanner that "cannot store. . .or save the image." The images Gizmodo released were less explicit images from the older scanning technology, not the new "backscatter" X-ray technology. The backscatter images leave nothing to the imagination, which is how the trading and then black market for the celebrity and other images emerged.
The TSA, natch, posits that the leaked photos on Gizmodo were fakes. The TSA announced on their blog that the images they look at (but do not save!) look like this (click here to visit the TSA blog):
---o0o---
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
All This Is That finds nude TSA scans of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron, and Jessica Alba, on the internet
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
and Mona Goldwater, Gen X Desk
To no one's real surprise, an underground market for body scan images taken by the TSA has popped up. In fact, the All This Is That editors were able to purchase explicit, nude "backscatter" images of George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann, Glee's Dianna Agron and Jessica Alba, among others. We purchased these images 50 minutes after we began searching--from an underground, but fairly easily found website, with a room labelled "TSA's Hottest And Greatest Hits." Jack hooked us up with an email reference and we were in.
Jack Brummet, our arts, paranormal, and animal husbandry editor, began this story with a sonic boom and then bugged out. He was off the story (with a bogus excuse about needing to focus on blah blah blah), handed it off to us and hooked us up with his contact in TSA management, who--surprise!--denied everything. You could tell he was lying because he really sucked at it. Jack's contact (a guy just below the top exec, level of the TSA) told him the TSA had discovered that employees were trading high quality TSA screening scans--digitally enhanced photos of celebrities and of "hot" men and women, often in categories like "grotesque" "hot jailbait" "long dong silvers" "great racks" or "belugas." Not long before TSA security swept in, the images began appearing online, and finally, for sale online.
The TSA and other government agencies often tout the quality of "Advanced Imaging Technology" like the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., while assuring customers that their operators "cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image."
Gizmodo busted them on that set of lies, by requesting (under the Freedom Of Information Act) 100 scans from among the 35,000 federal agents had saved on the scanner that "cannot store. . .or save the image." The images Gizmodo released were less explicit images from the older scanning technology, not the new "backscatter" X-ray technology. The backscatter images leave nothing to the imagination, which is how the trading and then black market for the celebrity and other images emerged.
The TSA, natch, posits that the leaked photos on Gizmodo were fakes. The TSA announced on their blog that the images they look at (but do not save!) look like this (click here to visit the TSA blog):
and Mona Goldwater, Gen X Desk
Jack Brummet, our arts, paranormal, and animal husbandry editor, began this story with a sonic boom and then bugged out. He was off the story (with a bogus excuse about needing to focus on blah blah blah), handed it off to us and hooked us up with his contact in TSA management, who--surprise!--denied everything. You could tell he was lying because he really sucked at it. Jack's contact (a guy just below the top exec, level of the TSA) told him the TSA had discovered that employees were trading high quality TSA screening scans--digitally enhanced photos of celebrities and of "hot" men and women, often in categories like "grotesque" "hot jailbait" "long dong silvers" "great racks" or "belugas." Not long before TSA security swept in, the images began appearing online, and finally, for sale online.
The TSA and other government agencies often tout the quality of "Advanced Imaging Technology" like the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., while assuring customers that their operators "cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image."
what you see in a digitally reversed backscatter body scan
Gizmodo busted them on that set of lies, by requesting (under the Freedom Of Information Act) 100 scans from among the 35,000 federal agents had saved on the scanner that "cannot store. . .or save the image." The images Gizmodo released were less explicit images from the older scanning technology, not the new "backscatter" X-ray technology. The backscatter images leave nothing to the imagination, which is how the trading and then black market for the celebrity and other images emerged.
The TSA, natch, posits that the leaked photos on Gizmodo were fakes. The TSA announced on their blog that the images they look at (but do not save!) look like this (click here to visit the TSA blog):
what the TSA claims you see in a body scan
---o0o---
Monday, November 22, 2010
The New New Patdown & The TSA uproar
By Jack Brummet
All This Is That Social Mores Editor
I've written quite a few times over the last three years about TSA and their various security procedures. Mostly I've probably been dismissed (perhaps rightfully) as a crank.
I've flown about 170 times in the last four years, and every single time (except two--both at John Wayne Airport in Orange County), I've set off the metal alarm in the scanners because of the stainless steel femur that was installed in my leg 15 years ago. [Note: this doesn't apply to my travel in Europe and Asia, where I have never been singled out]. Setting off that metal-detection alarm means you are subjected to a close personal inspection. I've been patted down a couple hundred times times now. First, they would go over your whole body with a wand. And then they would give you a close pat-down, focusing on theareas that set off the alarm on the wand (like your hip, and the zipper on your jeans).
No one really thought a lot about it when it was just those of us with joint replacements getting pulled out of the security line and frisked. But now...the uproar has begun because it's everyone. You either need to pass through the machine that sends an image of your naked body to a friendly TSA guy or gal, or if you would prefer not to be seen naked you get to have a close personal pat-down.
I just had the opportunity to undergo the "new New NEW pat-down" the day after the revised and aggressive security regulations took effect. Look, it's not not actually invasive, but it is extremely close, and they've have very definitely Cranked Up Their Act. They've seriously ratcheted up the pat-down we've had to endure these last ten years. On the other hand, they now forgo the wanding...which always seemed a particularly inept follow up measure. And as a side-note, they've also become extremely friendly and apologetic about the procedure. To be fair, I've always just grinned it and beared (Bore?) it, and avoided getting visibly cranky about it. The TSA guys didn't make the rules, and in all my dealings with them, they've been pretty OK. Normally I smile and say no problem and try to get through it as quickly as possible, since I almost never arrive at the airport more than 45-60 minutes before my plane leaves!
With all of the time I've spent with TSA folk (including two times when I got the total invasion, about which, see below), I have been able to ask questions...and I usually try to get them talking about dry runs or how they profile people, which is of course about the last thing they will talk about. I've always had the best luck with them asking for their cranky customer stories. And they all have millions. I've seen dozens of tantrums and shocking disrespect towards the TSA guys--and you know, in my experience, there is roughly a 90-10 ratio of good guys to assholes in the TSA--which may well surpass the ratio among the citizenry at large.
The total invasion consists of a mortifyingly close evaluation of all your gear (and your whole act..the people I've talked to those two times definitely seemed like profilers), which happens all at random according to the TSA stooges. I had three books. They thumbed through each and every page, and shined a flashlight down the spine of the hardcover. They took out my iPad and brought it back to a special area, along with my BlackBerry, a Nintendo DS, and two USB flash drives. They turned every piece of clothing inside out, squirted fluids from liquids I had (contact lens solutions, witch hazel, SFP 15 sun blocker, India Ink --for drawing) for what? testing? They invite you to repack, once they've inspected every item, inside and out.
This article has links to about a dozen earlier stories of life and times with the TSA.
All This Is That Social Mores Editor
I've flown about 170 times in the last four years, and every single time (except two--both at John Wayne Airport in Orange County), I've set off the metal alarm in the scanners because of the stainless steel femur that was installed in my leg 15 years ago. [Note: this doesn't apply to my travel in Europe and Asia, where I have never been singled out]. Setting off that metal-detection alarm means you are subjected to a close personal inspection. I've been patted down a couple hundred times times now. First, they would go over your whole body with a wand. And then they would give you a close pat-down, focusing on theareas that set off the alarm on the wand (like your hip, and the zipper on your jeans).
No one really thought a lot about it when it was just those of us with joint replacements getting pulled out of the security line and frisked. But now...the uproar has begun because it's everyone. You either need to pass through the machine that sends an image of your naked body to a friendly TSA guy or gal, or if you would prefer not to be seen naked you get to have a close personal pat-down.
I just had the opportunity to undergo the "new New NEW pat-down" the day after the revised and aggressive security regulations took effect. Look, it's not not actually invasive, but it is extremely close, and they've have very definitely Cranked Up Their Act. They've seriously ratcheted up the pat-down we've had to endure these last ten years. On the other hand, they now forgo the wanding...which always seemed a particularly inept follow up measure. And as a side-note, they've also become extremely friendly and apologetic about the procedure. To be fair, I've always just grinned it and beared (Bore?) it, and avoided getting visibly cranky about it. The TSA guys didn't make the rules, and in all my dealings with them, they've been pretty OK. Normally I smile and say no problem and try to get through it as quickly as possible, since I almost never arrive at the airport more than 45-60 minutes before my plane leaves!
With all of the time I've spent with TSA folk (including two times when I got the total invasion, about which, see below), I have been able to ask questions...and I usually try to get them talking about dry runs or how they profile people, which is of course about the last thing they will talk about. I've always had the best luck with them asking for their cranky customer stories. And they all have millions. I've seen dozens of tantrums and shocking disrespect towards the TSA guys--and you know, in my experience, there is roughly a 90-10 ratio of good guys to assholes in the TSA--which may well surpass the ratio among the citizenry at large.
The total invasion consists of a mortifyingly close evaluation of all your gear (and your whole act..the people I've talked to those two times definitely seemed like profilers), which happens all at random according to the TSA stooges. I had three books. They thumbed through each and every page, and shined a flashlight down the spine of the hardcover. They took out my iPad and brought it back to a special area, along with my BlackBerry, a Nintendo DS, and two USB flash drives. They turned every piece of clothing inside out, squirted fluids from liquids I had (contact lens solutions, witch hazel, SFP 15 sun blocker, India Ink --for drawing) for what? testing? They invite you to repack, once they've inspected every item, inside and out.
This article has links to about a dozen earlier stories of life and times with the TSA.
---o0o---
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
I've been patted down 150 times to maintain the illusion of safety
Since 9/11, I have been patted down at airports here and abroad around 150 times. My stainless steel femur sets off the metal detectors every time I pass through them, except once in Eugene, OR. Here is an interesting sidebar to that story: when I didn't sent off the alarm, I told the TSA guy:
"Hey, this is weird...I always set off the alarm. Something's wrong with your machine."
He essentially told me "don't worry about it, and be on your way."
It's the only time in 9 years that I HAVEN'T been patted down!
Having been through it so many times, I am not unsympathetic to everyone who feels embarrassed or invaded. For my part, I am pretty inured to it now. Actually, I am probably just numb to it all. You just answer their questions and get through it as quick as you can. It takes two minutes usually, three at the most. I will admit, I have been tempted more than once when they give their little speech about searching you, to say "Hey, I actually like it, 'bro. . .it's kind of hot!" But the TSA guys are not the most humorous bunch of people I've ever met.
Since I had arthoplasty, I get to experience this close-up and personal shakedown every single time I ride an airplane (and twice, or more, if it is an international flight and you have to pass out of the "sterile" zone). Anyone who knows me could tell you I am the least likely candidate in the world to take down an airplane, due to a nearly maniacal fear of flying.
Finally, I would point out that the frisking is never that invasive...even when you get the special treatment and they look in every article in your bags (including looking at every page in every book, and turning on each iPod, camera, phone, and computer you have). In fact, they seem to go out of their way to not touch your "privates" or butt (or should butt be part and parcel of the privates?..certainly it's more private than public), which may be one reason the Christmas day crotch-bomber slipped through screening.
X-raying a crowd
Nearly everyone who has ever "examined" me has been professional and friendly, and even appreciative that I am petty sanguine about the whole operation. It's hard to get mad at them. . .they're earning $16 an hour the hard way. I have never met one of these guys who wasn't extremely nice. I watch other people become angry over the invasion, but it's really not worth the oxygen. As usual, the big problems lie further up the food chain. I don't mind the searches, but as recent events show, this may not be making us as safe as we once thought. One expert says the only really change since 9/11 is reinforced cockpit doors.
Other TSA/airport stories from All This Is That:
http://jackbrummet.blogspot.com/2008/06/full-body-scanners-cranking-up-at.html
http://jackbrummet.blogspot.com/2008/04/face-scans-at-airports-are-coming-to-uk.html
Aviophobia: Pilot's gun discharges on US Airways flight
Blown by the TSA again/Aviophobia once again
Aviophobia, Part 26 Airport Screeners Miss Fake Bombs 75% Of The Time
Aviophobia, Part 22
Poem: Landing, or, Aviophobia, Part 26
Aviophobia Update
Hello Austin! Goodbye Fear of Flying!
A confession: How I slipped through the NSA metal detectors. . .with some heavy metal!
Fear Of Flying, Fear of Dying
Poem: Falling
Poem: Notes On Flying
One More Reason Why I Am Scared Sh**less To Fly: Video Of Fixing A Jet's Wing With Duct Tape
Airline passenger restrictions, hip replacements, and why the Executive Branch goes unmolested, while I am scanned, probed, poked and patted down
---o0o---
Friday, June 06, 2008
Full body scanners cranking up at Baltimore, Denver, Albuquerque, JFK, Dallas, Detroit, LAX, Vegas, Miami, and Wash., D.C. airports
Courtesy of the TSA, body-scanning machines that scan beneath your clothing are installed or are being installed in 10 of the nation's busiest airports. Los Angeles, Reagan National Airport, Baltimore, Denver, Albuquerque and JFK airports are already checking out random travelers. Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas and Miami will be added this month.
"It's the wave of the future," said James Schear, the TSA security director at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where two body scanners are in use at one checkpoint.
---o0o---
Friday, May 16, 2008
Aviophobia: Part 28 - Flight attendant intentionally starts fire on jet
Dave Kolpack of the Associated Press reported today that a disgruntled flight attendant--Eder Rojas, 19--smuggled a lighter aboard an airplane and started a fire in a bathroom, forcing an emergency landing. Rojas was angry because he had been assigned to routes he didn't like.
The Compass Airlines flight carrying 72 passengers and four crew members landed safely in Fargo, N.D. on May 7 after smoke filled the back. No injuries were reported. Read the entire sordid story here.
---o0o---
Monday, March 24, 2008
Aviophobia: Pilot's gun discharges on US Airways flight
This little news item really hit home, since I just flew on U.S. Airways a week ago. From the WCNC (Charlotte) news:
Pilot's gun discharges on US Airways flight
by Diana Rugg
"A US Airways pilot’s gun accidentally discharged during a flight from Denver to Charlotte Saturday, according to as statement released by the airline. The statement said the discharge happened on Flight 1536, which left Denver at approximately 6:45am and arrived in Charlotte at approximately 11:51am.
"The Airbus A319 plane landed safely and none of the flight’s 124 passengers or five crew members was injured, according to the statement. It was a full flight. And airline spokeswoman said the plane has been taken out of service to make sure it is safe to return to flight.
A Transportation Safety Administration spokeswoman reached by WCNC Sunday said the pilot is part of TSA’s Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, which trains pilots to carry guns on flights. Andrea McCauley said the gun discharged in the cockpit, but she could not release how the gun was being transported at the time. She did not release the pilot’s name, but said he was authorized to carry the weapon and was last requalified in the FFDO program last November.
A statement from TSA said the airplane was never in danger, and the TSA and the Federal Air Marshals Service are investigating the incident. WCNC reporter Diana Rugg is following up on this story. If you or someone you know were on that flight, please e-mail her at drugg@wcnc.com.
---o0o---
Thursday, March 06, 2008
TSA Gangstaz
Thanks to Doc., who posted this video on his Random Blts blog.
As someone who has been male-assisted and patted down 86 times by the TSA in the last 14 months, I can relate to this vid.
---o0o---
As someone who has been male-assisted and patted down 86 times by the TSA in the last 14 months, I can relate to this vid.
---o0o---
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Are you doing Your Part for Home Security???
You may have not realized this, but as we sit here, you have certain responsibilities to the Homeland Security. We are now, and generally are, in a state of Elevated security threat. You should have by now completed the steps outlined in step Green, Blue, and Yellow. According to the government, you need to stay ever vigilant, and prepared.
Blue - Complete recommended steps at level green. Review stored disaster supplies and replace items that are outdated. Be alert to suspicious activity and report it to proper authorities.
Orange - Complete recommended steps at lower levels. Exercise caution when traveling, pay attention to travel advisorie. Review your family emergency plan and make sure all family members know what to do. Be Patient. Expect some delays, baggage searches and restrictions at public buildings. Check on neighbors or others that might need assistance in an emergency.
Green - Develop a family emergency plan. Share it with family and friends, and practice the plan. Create an “Emergency Supply Kit” for your household. Be informed. Visit www.Ready.gov or obtain a copy of “Preparing Makes Sense, Get Ready Now” by calling 1-800-BE-READY.
Know how to shelter-in-place and how to turn off utilities (power, gas, and water) to your home.
Examine volunteer opportunities in your community, such as Citizen Corps, Volunteers in Police
Service, Neighborhood Watch or others, and donate your time. Consider completing an American Red Cross first aid or CPR course , or Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course .
Know how to shelter-in-place and how to turn off utilities (power, gas, and water) to your home.
Examine volunteer opportunities in your community, such as Citizen Corps, Volunteers in Police
Service, Neighborhood Watch or others, and donate your time. Consider completing an American Red Cross first aid or CPR course , or Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course .
Blue - Complete recommended steps at level green. Review stored disaster supplies and replace items that are outdated. Be alert to suspicious activity and report it to proper authorities.
Yellow - Complete recommended steps at levels green and blue. Ensure disaster supply kit is stocked and ready. Check telephone numbers in family emergency plan and update as necessary. Develop alternate routes to/from work or school and practice them.
Elevated Risk Continue to be alert for suspicious activity and report it to authorities.
Elevated Risk Continue to be alert for suspicious activity and report it to authorities.
Orange - Complete recommended steps at lower levels. Exercise caution when traveling, pay attention to travel advisorie. Review your family emergency plan and make sure all family members know what to do. Be Patient. Expect some delays, baggage searches and restrictions at public buildings. Check on neighbors or others that might need assistance in an emergency.
Red - Complete all recommended actions at lower levels. Listen to local emergency management officials. Stay tuned to TV or radio for current information/instructions. Be prepared to shelter-in-place or evacuate, as instructed. Severe Risk Expect traffic delays and restrictions. Provide volunteer services only as requested. Contact your school/business to determine status of work day.
---o0o---Sunday, February 10, 2008
The day I was blown by the TSA: new security measures being deployed
If you ever saw the movie Total Recall, you've seen airport security as it will be. As The Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, walks through a tunnel an X-ray machine projects his skeletal frame onto a wide screen in an nearby control room.Returning to the USA last week from Mexico, our plane landed in San Francisco, where we would go through customs (and security). In Mexico, the security at the airport could best be described as perfunctory. Yeah, I set off the metal detector as I always do, but instead of the frisking, questions and patdown, I just got a quick pass with wand. No liquids out, no computer out, no shoes or belt or jacket off. It was almost like the old days.
In San Francisco, going through the gauntlet to get back to the US, I was placed in an entirely new (to me) machine. It's an extremely sleek and futuristic looking booth. I told my traveling partners it looked like something the Nazis might have dreamed up in 2000, if they'd been around. This booth smells you!
You step inside. The doors silently slide closed and the machine begins blowing air around you and directing jets of air at spots on your body. It stops, analyzes the air for explosive residue, and flashes a little green light to say you can proceed. I was blown by the TSA.
The Sentinel non-invasive walk-through scanner that can screen
more than 400 people per hour for explosives or for narcotics
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Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The absurdity of excesive air traveler scrutiny
The New York Times blog on air travel--Jet Lagged--had a great editorial (The Airport Security Follies), on December 28th, by Patrick Smith, a commercial pilot and the author of Salon's "ask the pilot." Read the full editorial here.
"Six years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, airport security remains a theater of the absurd. The changes put in place following the September 11th catastrophe have been drastic, and largely of two kinds: those
practical and effective, and those irrational, wasteful and pointless. The
first variety have taken place almost entirely behind the scenes. Explosives
scanning for checked luggage, for instance, was long overdue and is perhaps the most welcome addition.
"Unfortunately, at concourse checkpoints all across America, the madness of passenger screening continues in plain view. It began with pat-downs and the senseless confiscation of pointy objects. Then came the mandatory shoe removal, followed in the summer of 2006 by the prohibition of liquids and gels. We can only imagine what is next."
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Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year: We start 2008 out at the Yellow National Security Threal Level
It's not DefCon 5, but here is what the TSA expects you to do during a Yellow National Security Threal Level
- Develop a family emergency plan. Share it with family and friends, and practice the plan.
- Visit www.Ready.gov for help creating a plan.
- Create an “Emergency Supply Kit” for your household.
- Be informed. Visit www.Ready.gov or obtain a copy of “Preparing Makes Sense, Get Ready Now” by calling 1-800-BE-READY.
- Know how to shelter-in-place and how to turn off utilities (power, gas, and water) to your home. Examine volunteer opportunities in your community, such as Citizen Corps, Volunteers in Police Service, Neighborhood Watch or others, and donate your time.
- Consider completing an American Red Cross first aid or CPR course , or Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course .
- Review stored disaster supplies and replace items that are outdated. Be alert to suspicious activity and report it to proper authorities.
- Ensure disaster supply kit is stocked and ready.
- Check telephone numbers in family emergency plan and update as necessary.
- Develop alternate routes to/from work or school and practice them.
- Continue to be alert for suspicious activity and report it to authorities.
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Thursday, December 20, 2007
Danger Dog! The New Homeland Security Threat Rating System
Someone at Wired (a magazine I haven't read for about 10 years) came up with a hot-dog based security threat rating system. The last time I flew to Texas, about two weeks ago, we were at Orange. But that was really the Chicago Dog level.
Notes on the Hot Dog System:
1. Fried, Bacon-Wrapped Tijuana Danger Dog. In the Mexican States of Nayarit and Jalisco (where I have visited several times), and, possibly in Baja, these are called Tocino Dogs. Our old pal and restaurateur, Jorge, often peddled these in Bucerias from a cart at fiestas. I have also seen Tocino Dogs sold on the streets of Los Angeles, around Staples Center when I have attended E3.
2. Chicago Dog With Everything. Have you ever had a Chicago Dog? A Hot Dog on a nice roll, with mustard, that neon green relish they use, a slice of pickle, celery salt, sport peppers (a pickled chili of medium hotness), mustard, and tomatoes.
3. Hebrew National Kosher Dog With Relish and Onions. Not quite a traditional NYC dog, which usually has chili onions, mustard, and sauerkraut.
4. Microwaved Oscar Meyer Wieners on White Bread Roll with Ketchup. A really bad American dog.
5. Steamed Tofu Pup on Sprouted Wheat Roll. Often called a Not Dog in the vegie/vegan world. Yuk!
Here is the current, laughable, National Security Threat Level System:
And, finally, the Sesame Street threat level system:
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Thursday, May 31, 2007
The "TB Dude" Speaks Out
The T.B. Dude And Wife
Everyone's up in arms about the TSA/the border inspector who allowed the TB "typhoid Annie" into the U.S. Especially me. And all the 80 year olds with his replacements. . .as the drug smugglers and others waltz right up the jetway. As I stepped onto the 737 in California last night, I had been frisked and patted down 12 times by the TSA times this month alone (due to my stainless steel femur).[1] And yet this guy, teeming with deadly cooties gets passed right onto the plane. Even though the "system" had flagged him as a risk:
An Associated Press article today said: "A globe-trotting Atlanta lawyer with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis was allowed back into the U.S. by a border inspector who disregarded a computer warning to stop him and don protective gear, officials said Thursday. The inspector has been removed from border duty."
From ABC News: Andrew Speaker has asked for forgiveness from the airline passengers he exposed to a rare strain of tuberculosis, and told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview that he has a tape recording of a meeting with health officials that he claims will confirm his view that it was all right to travel in his condition.
Germs Lurk on Planes, Trains and Buses
Tuberculosis -- Are You at Risk?
"He says he wants everyone to know how he made the decision, why he felt so strongly that it was not endangering anybody else and [is] also asking forgiveness of those onboard who are now having to be tested," Diane Sawyer said after spending an hour with the TB patient and his wife, Sarah Speaker, at the National Jewish Research Center in Denver, where he is currently in isolation.
"He talks at length about the decision first of all to go abroad, to hold his wedding abroad, and … there is a tape recording of the meeting that he had with health officials, and they say it confirms completely their view that it was all right for him to travel," Sawyer said.
You can see a video of Diane Sawyer on her interview here.
[1] Let me also note that I have now been patted down and frisked by the same TSA agent in Newport Beach three different times. He stands out in my mind, because of all the searches I get, his are the most, shall we say, extensive or intensive? This guy is thorough, and I started wondering this time if he doesn't enjoy his work a little too much?
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